Dozens of workers reject union at big Nissan plant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Several dozen workers among thousands at a Nissan factory in Tennessee voted not to unionize Thursday, another loss in tough territory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the traditionally anti-union South.

The 62-9 vote against the union at Nissan’s Smyna plant followed two years of legal wrangling in front of the National Labor Relations Board that spanned two presidential administrations.

In a statement, the machinists union said the delayed decision from the federal labor board had a “chilling effect” on the campaign. A machinists union representative noted earlier this week that some employees from the original drive had quit, left for other jobs or retired since the push began.

“The IAM will continue to support these workers so we will be prepared for them to join our union when the time is right again. We want to thank our organizers for their tireless work in this campaign,” Thursday’s statement said.

In a statement after the vote, Nissan spokesperson Lloryn Love-Carter said the workers “elected to maintain their direct relationship with the company.”

Love-Carter has previously said Nissan believes its workplace is “stronger without the involvement of third-party unions” like the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Still, she emphasized that employees have the right to decide whether to join a union — a right that has been enshrined in federal law since the 1930s.

Nationwide, several high-profile unionization campaigns — at Starbucks, Amazon, Apple and other companies — have given organized labor a renewed spotlight of late, even as the union membership rate reached an all-time low last year. The number of workers belonging to a union actually increased by 1.9% to 14.3 million, but that failed to keep pace with higher overall employment rates.

Car fire evidence presented to Greene Grand Jury

Evidence gathered in the death of Sandra Kay Peterson was presented Monday to the Greene County Grand Jury. The Grand Jury found that the evidence supported that Peterson’s death was the result of an accident.

Peterson, 56, died in a car fire in December of last year.

The fire began when the vehicle Peterson was driving became lodged on a pile of dry hay causing the hay to ignite destroying the vehicle with Peterson inside.

On Dec. 20, 2022, at approximately 8:02 p.m., Greene County 911 received a call of a fire at Eastside Baptist Church, 195 Serral Drive in Greeneville. The Greeneville Fire Department and Greeneville Police Department responded to the scene. Once on scene, they located a vehicle in the rear parking lot fully engulfed in fire.

When the fire was extinguished, a body was discovered inside the vehicle was that of Peterson. The body was identified after it was taken to the William Jenkins Forensics Center at ETSU in Johnson City.

Reality star Todd Chrisley’s son Kyle charged with assault

SMYRNA, Tenn. (AP) — Kyle Chrisley, the son of reality TV star Todd Chrisley of the show “Chrisley Knows Best,” has been charged with aggravated assault in Tennessee, authorities said.

The arrest comes just months after his father and stepmother, Julie Chrisley, were both sentenced to several years in prison for charges including bank fraud and tax evasion.

Kyle Chrisley was charged Tuesday with aggravated assault in Smyrna, news outlets reported, citing Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lisa Marchesoni. Chrisley was booked in the Rutherford County jail and later released on $3,000 bond, Marchesoni said.

The tight-knit, boisterous Chrisley family gained fame with the reality show, which was first recorded in the Atlanta area and later in Nashville. Smyrna is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Nashville.

Federal prosecutors said the couple engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities while flaunting their lavish lifestyle.

Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie Chrisley got seven years behind bars, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Atlanta.

Police: Officer fatally shoot armed man who pointed gun

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee police responding to a report of shots fired at a residence in Jackson fatally shot an armed man who pointed a gun at officers, authorities said.

Officers with the Jackson Police Department found Glennard Herndon, 31, in the backyard of the home with a firearm on Sunday night, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Preliminary information indicates Herndon pointed the gun at officers while they were speaking with him, and that one officer fired his weapon and shot Herndon, the statement said.

He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. No officers were injured. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing, the bureau said.

“TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews,” the agency said.